The Ecstasy and the Agony

Last updated on: January 21, 2017 at 1:38 pm by Dan Peterson

The Ecstasy and the Agony 2017-01-21T13:38:32-07:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

“A Court Ball in Vienna,” by Wilhelm Gause (1899); Wikimedia Commons pubic domain

Returning, just now, from dropping a son off at the Salt Lake City airport, I tuned in (as I typically do while driving) to KBYU-FM, which specializes in classical music.

For a substantial portion of the drive, they played, first, Johann Strauss’s Emperor Waltz (the Kaiser-Walzer) and, then, Beethoven’s Egmont Overture.

I’ve loved the music of Johann Strauss for as long as I can remember. But, this time, as I listened to this often-magnificent Strauss piece I found myself envisioning the elegant men and women of 1889 dancing to it, and the sudden thought unexpectedly came to me of how vivid and very alive they once were in that glamorous period of fin-de-siècle Vienna — and that they’re all gone. All of them. Dead and, overwhelmingly, long forgotten.

I can easily imagine notion that, when people die, they cease utterly to exist and are lost forever to a universe that, after all, cares neither for them nor for anything else. But that thought strikes me as inexpressibly sad, and I can’t imagine how anybody, even if convinced that it’s true, could find the idea good news.

Flawed and limited though they were and we are, human minds and personalities are the richest and best aspect of this world in which we live. And the death of any one of them impoverishes us and the world. It’s not a matter of fearing death. It’s a matter of loving life.

As John Donne famously put it,

No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were:
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; 
It tolls for thee.

Once I was in that vein, the Egmont Overture also led to reflections about mortality and about the hope granted by the gospel of Christ.

I wrote about this — and, specifically, about the utterly heartrending life of Ludwig van Beethoven — in a 2012 column for the Deseret News:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765590762/Beethoven-is-a-study-in-hope-healing.html

Uncategorized

Previous Post

January 21, 2017

"6 religion-friendly films from Hollywood"

Next Post

January 21, 2017 The Economist: "Why some religions, like the Mormons, sing"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Bethel" mean in Hebrew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

House of God City of Light Holy Ground God's Dwelling